The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1996–1997. The team's head football coach was John Cooper. The Buckeyes played their home games in Ohio Stadium. The team finished the season with a win-loss record of 11–1, and a Big Ten Conference record of 7–1. They finished co-champions in the Big Ten Conference with the Northwestern Wildcats and played in the 1997 Rose Bowl against Pac-10 Champion the Arizona State Sun Devils. Ohio State did not play Northwestern during the regular season and were selected to play in the Rose Bowl due to their better overall record of 10–1 (the Wildcats were 9–2). Northwestern had played in the previous Rose Bowl.